Lost and Found
by EkikaMess
Summary: A sequel to A Woman in Wolf's Clothing Oliver and Felicity travel to Nevada to find the remnants of carnage her father left behind.
1. Chapter 1

The hum of the private jet combined with the change in air pressure had Felicity feeling like she was in a sound deprivation chamber, and it made her extremely uncomfortable. "How'd you sleep?" She cringed, realizing she had spoken louder than necessary.

Oliver was sitting across from her and staring out the window. He had been distant these past couple days leading up to the flight to Nevada. He looked at her when she spoke and sent her a small smile, "As well as can be expected."

"Well, that's kinda a non-answer, isn't it? What's to be expected? What could be affecting _your_ sleep? And I am talking too much again aren't I?" She began wringing her hands in front of her. "I know this is silly, being nervous over a short flight. I mean, it's less than two hours in the air and we'll probably spend more time on the tarmac than actively flying. And I have flown before… It's just… I am going home for the first time in years and I've had nothing but radio silence from you since you told me you got this to be ARGUS sanctioned and now I don't know how I'm feeling."

He placed his hands on hers to stop her from giving herself a friction burn. "I was trying to give you some space. After everything that happened, I wanted you to find your new baseline without me."

She gave him a glare, but there wasn't much heat behind it. "I didn't ask for space." She turned her hands in his and held them. "Remember when I said to just explain things to me? I wasn't joking. I probably would have slept better if I had known your reasoning. As it was, with the nightmares and worrying about you –us-, I have gotten a grand total of six hours of sleep in the last three days. I'm not saying that to gain pity or throw blame, merely as a warning for my future behavior." When Oliver got up to sit next to her, she put up her hands in a mock karate defensive position. "I swear, if you knock me out again, I will kick your ass. You know I can do it."

He chuckled. "I was just going to let you use me as a pillow again. It seemed to work well enough in the helicopter." He pulled her onto his lap and tucked her head under his chin, "And I am sorry for making you worry. If it makes you feel any better, I was going crazy because I wanted to see you. I didn't get much sleep either." He kissed her hair and felt her relax in his arms.

She hummed contentedly and asked him the question that had been creeping its way into her mind since the battle at Sara and Nyssa's. "Do you still get nightmares? I mean, I don't want to pry and you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to… I just want to know if they'll ever stop." Tears leaked slowly from her eyes before she could stop them.

"It gets better. They don't disappear completely, at least mine haven't yet, but they do get better. I've found physical exhaustion helps me best. If I work myself to the point of total exhaustion, my brain focuses on repairing my body instead of delving into the darker recesses of my memories." He rubbed circles on her back, trying to soothe both of them. "We've got at least another hour and a half in this tin can, what do you say we rest as much as possible so we can be bright eyed and bushy-tailed when we see your mom."

She sat up and looked at him, her eyes were wide and horrified. "You're coming with me to meet my mom?!"

"You don't want her to meet me?" His eyes showed the shade of pain that caused.

"No! No. It's not that I don't want her to meet you, it's that I don't want you to meet her." When his expression turned to stone, she knew she had chosen the wrong words again. "I am so bad at this." She took a deep breath and tried again. "You have to understand, my mom is… sunny. No, she is a cocktail waitress in Las Vegas, so sunny doesn't even begin to cover it. My mom had to raise me alone, as you know. All she had in her arsenal after Darhk abandoned us was a GED, her charm, her looks, and sheer determination.

Do you know what makes a successful cocktail waitress in my hometown? Working all hours in the high roller area, keeping the rich drunk, happy, and gambling; and they prefer a pretty face to do that. So my mom, this beautiful sunshine of a woman, has learned to dress skimpy, smile pretty, and bring home enough for us to scrape by. This is the woman she has trained herself to be, and she has been that way for so long, she can hardly shut off the façade anymore." Felicity shook her head, "It's not that I am ashamed of her, I just want you to meet the woman who fought tooth and nail to raise a stubborn werewolf genius, too smart for her own good. Not the woman who flirts with the rich to make a living." She searched his eyes to see if he understood, but his expression was still schooled. "Plus, you'd be the first guy I brought home and I'm not sure what that would mean for either of us."

Oliver tried not to show the extent of his relief. In the past he had dated several women, and a lot of them he had to keep secret because he had been a serial cheater; always dating multiple women, but only one publicly. He was almost positive Felicity wasn't that type of woman, but when she was so blatantly against him meeting someone who was so important to her, he began to doubt his judgment. "Felicity. I wouldn't care if she was an ex-prostitute, she raised you to be the woman you are today and I lo- like her already just for that." He cupped her face and looked into her eyes, trying to reassure her.

"You're right." She cuddled back into his chest for a moment before springing back up, "But let's meet up with her after a full night's rest, huh? Well, at least as much as we can manage. Together we wouldn't even have a full night's sleep." She closed her eyes tightly, "I mean, that with the number of hours we manage to sleep in a night- combined- equals less than an average adult's night of sleep. You know what? I am just going to stop talking."

Oliver barely suppressed a chuckle and pressed a soft kiss to her hair. "Never do that, Felicity."

Felicity was standing at the check-in counter of a just-barely-reputable motel fighting off the urge to cry. Who would have thought that there would be a knitting convention that weekend? Better yet, who would have thought that a knitting convention would draw so many attendees that every reasonably priced room within a ten mile radius would be occupied? "C'mon man! This is the bottom of the bucket for me, you have _nothing_ available?"

"Ma'am, no one is more upset about the old and young biddies taking up all my rooms than me. But, I mean if you're desperate, I'm sure we could work _something_ out. " The middle aged meth haggard man leered at her and she had to swallow her vomit.

"Ugh. No, thank you." When she turned to leave the man reached out and grabbed her arm. She was trying not to breathe too deep because the smell of rotted teeth was strong with this one, but when she breathed deep to gather patience, she could smell his anger. She turned to him slowly, "You will let go of me. Now."

"C'mon now, beautiful. I made you a reasonable offer out of the kindness of my heart. The least you could do is give me a kiss for my thoughtfulness." He tried to yank Felicity closer, but was surprised when he ended up on his back on the opposite side of the counter. Felicity had pulled him toward her instead and threw him to the floor. Oliver, who had been outside on the phone trying to use his family name to get them a room on the strip, rushed in the lobby just in time to see Felicity place her foot on the man's throat.

"Everything alright in here, Felicity?" He asked cautiously.

"Just dandy!" She sounded far too chipper for the events playing out before him. "This man, if you want to call him that -I would rather call him something far less complimentary..." She pressed her new flat into his throat and watched his eyes go wide with fear, "This _man_ decided that because there were no rooms available, he would be so kind as to offer _his own_. For a price of course. And when I politely declined, he insisted. That insistence likely left a bruise on my arm that I am now going to have to explain to my mother."

The man lying on the floor looked at Oliver, his eyes pleading for assistance. "Don't look at me buddy. I vote for her to crush your throat. But, Felicity, maybe we could hold off on killing him just yet? I don't think Waller would appreciate the need for a clean-up team so early in the mission."

Her eyes narrowed on the man, "You're right." She looked over to Oliver, her anger calming just a little when their eyes met, "You wanna knock him out for me?"

"My pleasure." Oliver walked over as Felicity released the man beneath her. With one swing the sleaze ball was unconscious on the floor. "Are you ok?" His hand ghosted over her injured arm.

"I will be." She rubbed her arm, trying to determine if she would bruise or not. "Guys like that just make me so angry. I don't like being angry."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, guiding her out to their rental car, and whispered, "I've managed to get us a suite at Caesar's."

"Thank goodness. How'd you manage that? Wait. Don't tell me. I can figure it out. Mr Queen."

"Mr Queen was my father." He smiled.

"Right. Well… Agent Queen then."

They rented a car and were able to make it to Caesar's Palace, completely circumventing Las Vegas Blvd; which was packed with taxis, limos, and tourists. Inside, Oliver gave his name to the concierge and received a couple key cards and a flirtatious smile. "The Emperor Suite opened up just before you called us, how fortunate is that, Mr Queen?"

"Extremely. Thank you…" He gave her a friendly smile and glanced at her name tag, "Janice. " He turned toward the main doors, looking for Felicity and was surprised to find her finishing up a call on one of the in-house phones.

"Mr Queen? If you need anything, anything at all, you can reach me at the front desk or at this number." Janice handed him a slip of paper with her number scrawled on it. "I'm off at midnight."

"Uh." Oliver looked dumbly at the paper that was now in his hand. He really should be used to the come-ons. Truth was, before the island, he was and he would have jumped at the opportunity with this woman. But now? Now he was dumbfounded and was grasping for a gentle exit strategy that wouldn't make their stay more difficult than necessary. He gave her a sympathetic smile and relief flooded him when he felt Felicity slip her arm through his.

"Thank you, Janet." Felicity smiled sweetly. "We'll be sure to call if we need anything. How great is this customer service, sweetie?" She turned Oliver toward the elevators and laughed.

Oliver tossed the phone number into the trash can, "So great, hun. So great." Each with a bag in tow and ascended to their room, leaving behind a stunned yet mollified concierge.

"You looked like you needed a bit of help back there. What? You've never turned a girl down before?" Felicity asked after the doors closed.

He blushed a bit, "I never used to. Before… Anyway, I have now."

"No you haven't. I gave you an escape which gave her an answer, but that wasn't _you_ turning her down."

"I threw her phone number in the trash, that's about as solid as a no gets, I think."

Felicity pursed her lips in consideration, "Fair enough. I'll give you that one." She shoulder bumped him and smiled shyly at his reflection.

The doors dinged open as they reached their floor. Oliver swiped the key card and opened the door to the Emperor Suite. It wasn't a room he had ever stayed in personally, but it was similar to the other high end suites on the strip. Felicity looked around the room, agog at the view.

"I grew up here, but I've never really seen Vegas like this. It's amazing." She was standing at the window that overlooked the south half of the strip. From her vantage point she would be able to see the Bellagio's water show too. She heard Oliver's feet whisper across the plush carpet and stop next to her.

"Who'd you call while we were downstairs?" He reached down to hold her hand, not ready to take their intimacy too far yet.

"My mom. I figured I should let her know I was here and tell her to prepare for company because I brought someone home with me." She leaned her head on his shoulder as they both gazed out of the window. "Should we order food or just turn in. I can't decide if I am more tired or hungry right now."

"I'll order some room service, we'll eat dinner in our pajamas then go to bed. Sound good?"

"Perfect. I'll have a cheese burger." She grabbed her bag and, stumbling slightly with exhaustion, turned to make her way to the bathroom to shower and get changed while Oliver ordered the food.

The food was being delivered right as she stepped out of the bathroom and they ate in companionable silence. Felicity noticed that Oliver had also taken a shower and changed into a fitted white shirt and basketball shorts. "There are two bathrooms in here?" She gazed around the rather large space.

"Yes, there's also a wet bar, this sitting area, a dining area and a bedroom." He finished off his cheeseburger and looked up at his companion. She was chewing very slowly and her eyes were wide in question.

She swallowed and asked, "Just _one_ bedroom? How many beds?"

"Just the one, but before you freak out, I am going to sleep on the couch. Don't worry. Now let's get to bed. We've got an eventful day tomorrow."


	2. Chapter 2

She laid in that massive king sized bed for two hours, unable to settle her mind enough to get to sleep. The sounds of Oliver shifting restlessly on that deceptively small couch made her even more aware that they were together- alone- in a _very_ nice hotel room without the threat of danger or death hanging over their heads. When she heard him tumble to the floor and curse she had had enough. She fought out of the covers and walked to the sitting room in time to see the man settle back onto the couch with his head on one armrest and his feet touching the floor on the opposite side of the makeshift bed.

"Get in the bed," She implored.

"I am _not_ letting you sleep on this sorry excuse for a couch. I'll just sleep on the floor. I've slept on worse."

"Oh, I'm not giving up my spot on the bed, but since the thing is larger than the bedroom I grew up in and can _easily_ fit six men of your stature, I think we can manage to share." She was too tired to think about anything but sleeping in that enormous bed, the dirty thoughts and perpetual blushing were sure to come with the morning light, but for now… sleep.

"Oh." Oliver seemed a bit stunned. "I don't want to invade in your space. And I don't want you to think that I planned this or expected anything."

"I know. It's fine. Listen, we both need sleep. I can't fall asleep while I know you are out here suffering, so put me out of my misery and come to bed?"

He laid there and considered the options for a moment. _Could_ they share a bed without crossing boundaries? Could their budding relationship survive if said boundaries were obliterated? Yes. "Ok." He stood up and followed her to her –their- room.

"Now, not to sound picky, but I like the left side of the bed. Is that alright with you?" Felicity asked shyly.

"As long as my body is parallel to the floor, I am comfortable." He walked to the right side of the bed and they both crawled in.

All Felicity's bravado left her and she was suddenly feeling very shy. She clenched the covers at her chin and her muscles were so tense her feet started shaking. "Good night." She said, her voice slightly shaking.

The tension in her body was palpable and it was making him shift uncomfortably. "Good night." He rolled on his side, facing her, and attempted to go to sleep. After a mere two minutes he couldn't take it anymore. "Come here." He opened his arms in invitation, "I don't want anything more than to hold you tonight." He smiled when she scooted into his embrace. "There. This is better." He place one hand in her hair and the other on the small of her back, while she used one of his biceps as a pillow and placed a hand on his chest.

"You're right. This _is_ better." The tension left her and she melted into his embrace. Within minutes, the couple was asleep. The first decent sleep they had in a long while, but nightmares still tried to surface. Felicity would start making distressed mews and growls which would wake Oliver, he would murmur soothing words and reassurances that he was there and she was safe until she settled back down. Oliver's muscles would begin to twitch and his brows would furrow, Felicity would wake long enough to soothe him in his sleep and kiss his forehead to relax his expression. They were both pleasantly surprised when they woke to the sun shining into the room, and the alarm clock reading 7:50am.

"I can't believe I slept that long!" Felicity said, surprised. "We should sleep together more often. I mean… nope. I said exactly what I meant." She was now sitting with her arms crossed, refusing to send herself into a babbling spiral after such a glorious amount of sleep. She peeked over to Oliver who had propped his head up on one arm and was smiling at her. "What?"

"You're talkative even before coffee." Just then a knock on the door sounded.

Oliver rolled out of bed and answered the door while Felicity remained stock-still in the bed, listening intently. She heard Oliver thank someone before the door closed and then she smelled it; coffee, eggs, bacon, and toast. The smell was enough to pull her from the luxurious bed and into the dining area. "When did you order room service? Not that I'm not thankful, because I am. It smells perfect."

"Last night. I made sure to make the order for 8:00 so we could energize ourselves properly before starting our day." He smiled at her again. He wasn't typically a morning person, but last night had been the most peaceful rest he's had in recent memory. It was a fight trying to keep himself from laughing out loud with how good he was feeling.

She blushed, tucked a tuft of hair behind her ear, poured herself a cup of coffee and filled a plate with food. "Do you have an itinerary for today? Or are we just playing it by ear?"

"I may technically be lead on this operation, Felicity, but you have all the cards. What do _you_ suggest we do?" He took a bite of his eggs and waited for her response.

"I have that list of rented spaces from the files ARGUS acquired when they seized his mountain fortress. Also, we could dig around in Mom's attic to find anything he left behind. She may or may not have saved his stuff, but we'll have to look to know."

"We should gather all the information possible before doing anything. Your mom's attic it is. Will she be there? I don't want to surprise her, or wake her up if she's sleeping. I remember you said she works nights." He hoped that the words didn't come out as panicked as he felt.

"She is still working. She had the 2-10 shift this morning, but she knows we'll be stopping by eventually." She took a hefty bite out of her toast and smiled at him while she chewed. "You'll be fine." She belatedly reassured him, "It's not like she's armed... I don't think…"

Felicity's childhood home was a desert brown, one story, stucco, ranch and Oliver had a hard time believing a vibrant person such as Felicity was raised in such a drab home. He wasn't sure what he expected, maybe a bright pink or turquoise, or perhaps even a vivid white with an eccentric trim, but definitely not this brown cookie cutter home that looked so similar to it's neighbors, it's a wonder Felicity found it on the first try. The front yard was dirt, gravel, and displayed artfully planted sparse native plants that looked more dangerous than pretty. "Nice. I especially like the spiky cactus looking thing."

"It's called a Yucca. That one there," she pointed to a smaller paddle shaped cacti topped with a purplish bulb, "is a cactus. Prickly Pear. The blooms are beautiful and if you're lucky, I'll even find you some Prickly Pear jam. So good!" She lifted a rock by the front door and fished a key from the dirt beneath. She looked back to Oliver and saw his raised brow, "What? It's a good hiding place! No sane person would ever blindly reach under a rock in the desert. Where do you think the scorpions live?"

"Is your mom not worried about break-ins? Or the fact that your- I mean Darhk could have- I don't know, kidnapped or murdered you without even having to bust down the door?"

"Oliver. I am going to say this once, so listen up." She started to open the door but instead turned to face him. "My mom worked hard to get us into a gated community with 24/7 security. She chose a house surrounded by an NRA member, a cop, a special agent in the FBI and an accountant. Not that the accountant would have been able to do much had we been in danger, but still. She did the best she could with what she had, which was damn good. Yes, the key is in an easily accessible and easily guessed spot, but she is safe. _I_ am safe, because of her."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I guess I am not used to seeing places without security cameras or guards or razor wire."

"Oh, there are security cameras. I rigged some up after I graduated MIT to blend in with the overhang, there." She pointed out the small bump that would look like a structural defect to anyone not looking for it. "I have a few placed around the property, they all run off solar batteries so they are constantly monitoring. Do you want to see them?" Oliver nodded and they walked to the front of the two car garage. She pointed out two more lumps on the fascia. One directed through a knothole toward the driveway and the other pointing toward the yard. "They have color and IR capabilities, so they see everything, day or night. I have the feed set to stream via secured wireless signal to a small server I have hidden in the house. I can remotely access it anytime I need to. This baby is part of the reason ARGUS recruited me." She beamed up at Oliver, obvious pride in herself shining through her eyes.

"You truly are remarkable." He looped his arms around her waist and took her lips. Their mouths mated for a brief moment before he pulled back to look at her. "I'm sorry for the careless comment about the kidnapping and murdering thing. I feel this uncontrollable need to protect you and everything you care about."

"I forgive you." She went up on her tip toes and pecked him on the cheek, "This time." Linking hands they began walking back to the front door when a car pulled into the driveway. The early 2000's Honda Civic parked next to their rental and its engine sputtered to a halt. "Gird yourself," she whispered and released his hand to greet the driver with a heartfelt hug.

The driver, who Oliver assumed was Felicity's mom, was only slightly taller than her daughter even though she was in heels. She was wearing a modest navy blue cocktail dress (ok, modest by Vegas standards) and nude heels. Her possibly naturally blonde hair was worn down in cascading waves and her face was lit up with happiness. Her odd high pitched squeal fell an octave when her daughter whispered "Mom, stop." Their obvious love for each other made his already big smile grow larger.

"Stop what? Stop being excited to see my baby girl after she hasn't been home in _years?_ I don't think so!" She squeezed her daughter tighter.

"Mom, we saw each other two months ago, remember?" Her voice slightly strangled from the tightness of their embrace.

"Still, it's been too long! And who might this be?" Felicity was released and her mom approached Oliver confidently. "Hello, I'm Donna, Donna Smoak. Nice to meet you…?"

"Oliver. Queen. And it's a pleasure to finally meet you Mrs. Smoak." He shook her hand, not bothering to dampen down his smile when he looked to Felicity.

"Donna. Please."

"Donna. Your daughter is absolutely amazing. Much to your credit, I've been told." Felicity was standing to the side, watching the exchange with a mixture of embarrassment and hope.

"She really is. I don't think I could've asked for a better daughter." She leaned in and kissed her daughter's cheek with a loud _smack_ , leaving a cherry red lipstick smudge on Felicity's cheek, then attempted to remove the smudge with her thumb. "Let's go inside, you can rummage around in that dusty ol' attic, and then I'll make you lunch! I threw a bug bomb up there for you last week, so you shouldn't have to worry too much about the spiders." Donna linked arms with both her visitors and started to herd them toward the door. "The Santa Ana's have been bad this year. You're lucky you flew in on a calm day."

As if her words reminded the desert of its own weather, a strong gust of wind raced past the trio and pushed open the unlatched front door. In the next second they were all on their backs next to the rental car. Their hair was singed and bits of flaming rubble rained down around them. Oliver shoved both women under the car and crawled after them to wait out the raining debris.

Someone was trying to kill a Smoak. Whether it was Donna or Felicity or both, he didn't know, but he sure as hell was going to find out.


	3. Chapter 3

Oliver's heart was in his throat as the last remaining fiery bits of Felicity's childhood home rained down. He dragged himself from beneath the car and pulled a stunned Felicity after him. He set her on her feet, examining her from head to toe and breathed a sigh of relief when he found nothing but superficial scratches lining her arms and one on her cheek. His hand was cradling her face when he saw awareness of the reality before her creep in.

"You're ok." He reassured her, "I am going to check on your mom, don't move." He slowly released her, ensuring she had her footing before looking under the car for her mom. He was on his hands and knees ready to coax the older woman out, when he saw her feet. Just her feet. Oliver stood quickly, raced to the other side of the car, hesitant to see the state of distress he would find her in. Donna had made her way from under the Honda, dress slightly tattered, but standing steady as ever in stilettos. She was dusting off her thighs and shaking her head. "Donna? Are you ok? Do you know where you are?"

"Oh, honey. I am fine." She dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand, "This isn't the first time something has blown up in my face. Dammit, I liked this dress!" She was examining a rather problematic tear in the fabric at her waist that revealed a fresh, shallow scratch beneath.

"Mom, you're bleeding." Oliver turned to see Felicity, standing tall, assessing the situation and cataloging damages. He could almost see the synapses firing within that amazing brain of hers.

"Felicity, baby. I am fine. You know I've had worse than this." She smoothed a hand through her hair, cringing at the _crunch_ of the singed ends, then ran her hands down her face and sighed with relief, "at least I still have my eyebrows."

"I know but…" she rushed to engulf her mother in an embrace. The loss of the home didn't bother her sentiments, but she knew her mother had worked hard to keep that home, and in the blink of an eye it was gone. "This is my fault," she said for only her mother to hear, "He found me, and now they want me dead for helping capture him."

"You did WHAT?!" Donna shouted. "I told you to stay far away from that man, and to let me know if you ever sensed anything. And now you're telling me he not only _found_ you, but you helped capture him?"

"You didn't tell her?" Oliver asked, clearly astonished. That was quite a pivotal event to leave out for a few weeks. The sound of rapidly approaching sirens halted their conversation. He called headquarters and was displeased to learn that he was right; Waller was none too thrilled about having to send in a cleanup team so early in the mission.

"I need to meet our team downstairs in five. You will stay in this room, away from the windows and the phone." Oliver was not happy with the most recent development in their quest. Why hadn't Felicity told her mother what had happened over these past few weeks? What was the reason she gave for their interest in her father's old papers? Most of all, he was pissed that what was supposed to be a discreet, fact finding mission has turned into a no-holds-barred operation, complete with an explosive attempt on their life, the need for their entire team, and constant check-ins with HQ.

"Do you remember that talk we had about my contrary nature? Yeah. I am finding it extra difficult _not_ to defy you out of spite." Felicity stood in their hotel room, arms akimbo and still smelling of smoke. When she woke up that morning, she definitely had thoughts of being dirty in the hotel room with Oliver. Only, in her inappropriate thoughts, her mother wasn't showering in the next room and she and him weren't _literally_ dirty. "And look at those fucking windows! They are floor to ceiling! It's not going to matter how far I am away from them."

"I'll close the curtains, then! Do I really have to explain why it would be a good idea for you to stay put?"

"It's not the reasoning! It's the tone! You walk around like you are the "be all- end all", and that your word is law. Well, news flash sunshine, it's not. So, if I wanted to call the local news channel and tell them that my psychotic father played around with human genetics, kidnapped and murdered what is likely hundreds of runaways, made his own daughter into a werewolf, and is now out to get said daughter even though he is trapped underground in his own personal prison cell between a psychotic psychiatrist and a very angry one-eyed Australian; I will."

"Felicity Megan Smoak." She cringed as she heard her mother's tone. "Apologize to that man right now! He has done nothing but protect us since that bomb went off." She looked as comfortable in a set of Felicity's baggy pajamas as she did in her dress and heels.

"Mom, I didn't hear you get out of the shower." Felicity said sheepishly.

"Obviously." Donna looked to Oliver, just missing the curious look he flashed at her daughter. "Mr Queen. Agent Queen? Oliver?"

"Oliver, please." He insisted.

She smiled, "Well, Oliver. If you haven't noticed, my daughter is a bit of a control freak, and when things get out of control, she lashes out. Take everything she says right now with a grain of salt."

"Mom!" Felicity muttered indignantly.

"No, she's right to get upset. See, I have the same problem and I've been told I become rather bossy when I feel my control of a situation slipping away. I just wasn't prepared for an assault on this trip, not of this magnitude, at least."

"Oh. A man who owns up to his faults." She said dreamily, "Felicity, where did you meet this one? And is there an extra for me somewhere?"

"The woods, Mom. And no, he's a one off." Felicity said, her fingers trying to massage the migraine that had started to build since the adrenaline had worn off. Her brows furrowed in pain and Oliver went on high alert.

"You should have let EMS look at you." He insisted for the twelfth time since the ambulance had arrived at the house, or what was left of it.

"No, they would have insisted on tests, and my mom will tell you, tests on me are not the best idea. What if they ran a blood test and saw how different I really was? Anyway, it's just a headache. A shower and some rest and it should go away soon enough. And Digg is at the door." Felicity walked shakily to the bathroom to shower, two sets of eyes watching her with concern.

Oliver moved toward their hotel room door, and opened it before Digg's knock sounded. His slightly stunned friend walked in the room and set up a mini-command center on the kitchenette counter within a minute. The only acknowledgement was a mutual nod; there would be time later to talk and elaborate on the situation.

"It's not normal for her to get headaches like that." Donna said almost to herself.

"Has she ever had a major head injury? Concussion? Anything like that?" Oliver walked to her side.

"No, not that I know of. But I learned today that distance has made my daughter able to keep some pretty big secrets. Like the fact that Damien has been captured." She moved her eyes from the now closed bathroom door, and looked into his steadily. "What. Happened?"

"Your daughter and I met under some rather unusual circumstances in the woods one morning. When we went to take her home, her townhome had been ransacked. We were ordered to provide protection detail, and were attacked at our safe house. After that attack, we gained intel on who was trying to get to Felicity; Damien Darhk, the leader of a secret terrorist organization and her father. We set up a trap for him in an unpopulated area and waited for him to take the bait. When he did, we were able to subdue his men and capture him with zero casualties on our end. He was transported to a top secret location where he was interrogated before being sent off to the most isolated detention facility known to ARGUS. He gave us information on his operations and what he did to Felicity and countless others. Felicity feels the need to find every kid he ever experimented on and bring them home, or at least their remains. That's why we wanted to look through his old paperwork."

"If she had told me why you wanted to look through that bastard's things, I could have told you my attic was a waste of time. Any and all paperwork regarding his… _work…_ " she spat out the word like it left a bad taste in her mouth, "was probably kept under lock and key somewhere else."

"Do you know which one?" Felicity said from the bedroom door. After the fastest shower she had ever taken, a towel was wrapped around her still wet hair and she was wearing blue sweatpants and Oliver's favorite shirt. After a quick perusal, he knew she was feeling a little better, but pain was still creasing her brow.

"No, baby. I don't. All I know is that he never talked about his work and he shut down whenever I asked him about it. As it was, I found out he was injecting you with chemicals only after you told me. I'll never forgive myself for not seeing it sooner…" She shook the guilt back to the recesses of her mind and continued, "Anyway, after we left him, I had your uncle look into him and he found gaping holes in his identity that his initial search couldn't find. I married, loved, and had a child with a monstrous stranger, who then hurt my baby. I took that precious child and ran. We went off the grid, which was a whole lot easier in those days, let me tell you. My brother was able to get us new social security numbers, but we were able to keep our names. We moved into the house that just exploded and I worked for cash under the table for years. I thought we were safe, that he had lost interest. I guess I was wrong."

"Not wrong, mama. He moved to Mexico and continued his experiments, figuring that since he did it once, he could do it again. As far as we can tell, he wasn't able to. That's part of what I need to find out. I need to know how many kids he killed for his twisted idea of science-assisted evolution." She started rubbing her temple again, trying to ease the migraine that was still ravaging her head.

Oliver made his way toward her and grabbed her hand, when she tried to pull away he held fast and started massaging the pressure point just above her thumb. "It's an acupressure trick I learned in my travels." He whispered.

She grunted a reply and dropped her head to his shoulder. "Mom, I think I have a migraine."

"You've never had one of those before."

"It's the adrenaline let down. It's normal." Digg spoke softly as he damped a washcloth with cold water. "Is there a comfortable room that can be completely dark?"

"Our bedroom." Oliver said, his focus totally on Felicity as she was still huddled into his shoulder. "It has blackout curtains and a comfy bed."

"That'll do." Digg led the way for Oliver and Felicity. Soon, the curtains were closed and Felicity had her feet in warm water with the cold damp rag on her neck. "Lyla says this does the trick for her every time."

"Thanks, John. I'm sure it'll work. Let's just hope it's soon." Pain laced her voice. John left the room quietly, but Oliver stayed behind. "I can smell your worry and it's not helping any. I'll be fine. I mean; I know I've never been sick a day in my life, but we've all gotta start sometime, right? I want you to ask my mom a question for me though. Ask her what _exactly_ she meant by 'It's not the first time'."


	4. Chapter 4

After an hour of briefing the team, pacing the floor, and worrying about Felicity, Oliver stepped in their bedroom to find her sleeping peacefully. He fought the urge to cuddle up next to her and shut the door on his way out. He collapsed on the couch, his whole body exhausted from the events of that morning.

"Here, eat this." Donna handed him a slice of pizza that Roy had ordered earlier.

He chewed it mindlessly, and when it was gone he looked to the woman fidgeting uncomfortably on the couch across from him. "What did you mean by 'This isn't the first time'? I have a feeling you were speaking literally."

"I was and I wasn't." She sat in a pensive silence for a couple minutes before looking to him and continuing. "I have quite a few years under my belt, as you can imagine. Even tried my hand at dating once or twice since I left Damien… those men were only interested in one thing, and it wasn't something I was willing to give up easily. Felicity. After the third date, when I thought everything was going great and I might actually have the opportunity to be happy again, they would start pushing about 'When am I going to meet your daughter?' and 'Where does she go to school? Maybe we could pick her up someday' or 'My cousin would gladly watch her for the weekend while we go to Havasu.'

The thing was, I rarely ever mentioned her. I am extremely guarded when it comes to her and had mentioned her only once or twice. They were fixated, and that's when I knew it had to be Damien's doing. He was trying to get at my baby through me and I was _not_ going to let that happen, so I called off all the relationships when they got too insistent. They were confused, but eventually most of them went their own way without much of a fight. This one guy though, Roger, he took it a bit… harsher… than the rest. He became overbearing and borderline violent. I was truly afraid for the second time in my life. He would show up at the casino and sit in my section. If I would switch areas with someone; there he was. I even went so far as to request a schedule change, or to work the VIP area only and he _still_ found a way to harass me.

That's when I asked my brother for some help. He helped me file a TRO by falsifying a few small things here and there and for a while, Roger had disappeared. I remember the relief I felt, not having to fear going to work or letting Felicity ride the bus to school…" She smiled sadly. "Not three weeks later, right as my world started to feel normal again, Roger was waiting by my car after work." Donna paused, the memory making her voice shakier than she wanted. She wrestled for the strength to speak smoothly and detached, as she always did when it came to recalling that night.

Oliver waiting patiently for her to regain her footing, and only a few minutes had passed when she started speaking again. "He was sweaty and shaking. This angry smile stretching his cheeks too wide. He had said I looked good for an old hag, and that my 'B' of a daughter and I had missed the opportunity of a lifetime with him… When I started telling him just where he could shove his 'opportunity of a lifetime', he unzipped his jacket. Eight little pipes were strapped to his stomach and…" She took a deep breath and shook off the tears that were threatening to fall. "Anyway, one of my coworkers had seen him in the parking garage and went to get security. They must have seen the bomb on the feed because they made it there only seconds after he had unzipped. One of the officers pulled me behind an SUV while the other tried to talk him down. Roger took off running toward me, but he tripped and accidently set off the device before he could get close enough to kill me. I walked away with some shrapnel wounds and small third and second degree burns.

So other than some rather ridiculous plans that never came to be, that is the first time something, or someone, ever blew up in my face." She shuddered out a laugh and rubbed her upper arms attempting to fight off the internal chill.

Placing a hand over one of hers, Oliver spoke. "I am sorry you had to go through that, and this may seem insensitive, but do you think your brother would have any information on this Roger? If he was connected to Darhk, we could uncover a whole trove of information."

"I know he would. I can call him now and see if he can't pass it to your boss."

"That would be great, Agent Diggle can give him all the information he needs to get ahold of the director." When Donna stood, so did Oliver. "You know that by pursuing this new lead, you are going to need to tell this story to Felicity, right?"

"I know. I just wish this is one of those times she was acting like she was asleep but she was really listening to the whole thing…" They both looked toward to bedroom door. When there was no movement Donna whispered "I am really worried about her."

 _Me too,_ Oliver thought. He placed his hand on her shoulder with reassurance and turned to his team (who were currently acting like they hadn't listened in on the entire conversation) "We need someone in the crime lab helping them sift through the debris and giving us up to date information on the bomber and their handiwork. Also, I need two of you to start on the outskirts of Henderson, working your way to North Vegas, searching for storage units Dahrk might have owned. Look for all his known aliases and ones that seem similar."

"He went by Noah Kuttler when we were married." Donna chimed in.

"I can call Iris," Barry suggested, "She has sources everywhere, and might be able to find more details faster, especially with Cisco and Caitlin."

Oliver nodded in agreement and with that, the team dispersed, looking for the smallest clue to lead them to the missing kids.

Hours later Felicity finally stirred, her eyes dry and overly sensitive (which was saying something) and her throat scratchy. If this is what it was to be "normal" she could do without. After a few minutes of sitting on the bed in a fog, she walked listlessly to the en suite bathroom and rinsed her face, attempting to wash away the cobwebs. She realized that the face rinse wasn't going to wake her up nearly enough, so she started the shower.

The sound of the water hitting the tiled shower wall drowned out the ambient noise that was always driving her to the brink of insanity. She stood beneath the near-scalding heat, letting the water beat the tension from her body and the haze from her mind. Her mind raced over the events of the day, trying to problem solve with minimal facts was only leaving more questions than solutions. It was only when she realized her hands were getting pruny that she shut off the faucet.

She stepped out of the shower and into the steamy bathroom, wrapped herself in the hotel's luxurious robe, twisted her hair into a matching towel, and proceeded to brush her teeth. So what if it was almost dinner and her stomach was yelling at her? She was finally feeling human again (or as close as she gets at least). Her eyes no longer burned and her headache was only a horrible memory. Feeling miles better she went to the bedroom to get dressed and join the others in the main living area.

She stopped short when she saw Oliver standing just inside the closed door, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together in that adorable nervous way he has. She let herself enjoy the sight of him for just a moment before reality dragged them back into its all too firm grip. He exuded strength and confidence even when he was worried or unsure, he was safety personified. His shifting stance and furrowed brow made her smile to herself.

"Are you alright? I've been worried. We've been worried. Your mom says you've never been sick. You slept for hours. Should we get an ARGUS medic here? Maybe Caitlyn?"

"I am much better now, Oliver. Diggle is probably right, it's probably just the let down from the adrenaline rush. No need for a doctor. How long was I out?" She looked down, questions furrowing her own brow, "I woke up feeling like I ate sand. Or like I dipped my entire head into the sand like some sort of ostrich. Though I know they don't actually…" She took a breath and looked up from her own fidgeting hands to see his smile. "I am good. If I start feeling anything like that again, you can call Caitlyn. Deal?"

"Deal."

As they stood there smiling at each other, Felicity slowly came to the realization that she was wearing just a robe and a towel. Her eyes darted to the bed and back to him, and her heart started racing. She must be feeling better because she was beginning to have many ideas about how to get full use out of that large mattress. He seemed to sense her train of thought because his smile dropped, his eyes went half-lidded and he took a step toward her, matching her own determined steps. They met, not with a crash, but with a caress.

He cradled her face, tilting her chin upwards, and searching her face for the answer to a silent question. Her hand stroked his stubble, she bit her lip, smiled and gave him a nod. _Yes, I am ready._ He took a steadying breath and grinned.

"Later." He promised. "When we don't have half the agency in the hotel room with us." He sealed that promise with a tender, lingering kiss. They parted when Felicity's towel fell to the floor. Barry, Iris, Cisco and Caitlyn are looking at all the self-storage places between North Vegas and South Henderson. If they find anything suspicious, they'll let us know. I'll leave you to get dressed." He backed toward the door his hands lingering on her until she was out of reach. "And there is almost an entire spread of Big Belly Burger out there. You might want to hurry before Barry gets back and eats it all."

Her stomach growled in appreciation, drawing a chuckle from them both. Food was just the right motivator. She was dressed in record time.


	5. Chapter 5

The team was gathered around the center island which was covered in fast food wrappers, cups, and bags when Felicity made her way out. "Good morning Sleeping Beauty", teased Diggle.

"Not even close, but I am feeling much better, thank you." She gave his arm a gentle squeeze then moved around him. Donna stepped in front of her daughter, put her hand to her forehead to check for a fever and looked into her eyes. "I _am_ better mom. I promise." She gave her mom a quick peck, grabbed a burger from the bag then plopped down on a stool, moving things aside so she can open her laptop. "Let's see if we have an image of who ordered smoked Smoaks." She took a hefty bite, dusted her hands on her comfy-pants and let her fingers fly across her keyboard. Within seconds she had the recorded video from her crafty cameras and began setting parameters to narrow her search. After a few minutes, a couple burgers, and halfway through her medium fry she exclaimed, "Gotcha sucker!" She hit a few more keys and sent the video to the big screen tv mounted on the wall.

The team gathered around to watch as a blurry silhouetted figure, with a duffel bag in hand, slinked to the front door, the time stamp read 2330, the culprit knelt down, lifted the same rock Felicity had pulled the spare key from, and opened the front door. She looked at the screen with far too much focus, avoiding Oliver's "I told you so" glance. The lights never came on, and he exited the house about 20 minutes later sans duffel bag.

"Do we have any shots of their face? Body type? Car?" Oliver asked.

"No, those cameras were a decade old and weather worn; _but_ we do have an approximate time and I know for a fact that the security at the front gate is child's play to get into." She opened a new program and drew up the feed from the more updated security cameras at the security gate. They scoured through 3 hours before and after the shadowed figure rigged the bomb with no luck.

"Could he be a neighbor? Donna, who all did you tell about Felicity coming home?" Barry asked.

"I… I am not sure. I guess I mentioned I was excited to see her again, but I don't think I told anyone that she was coming here or when she would get here… I am still pretty secretive over my baby girl. Up until earlier today I thought my ex-husband was still after her."

"Any enemies you've made recently? Any neighborhood disputes? Issues at work?" This time it was Laurel asking.

"I've had a few people trying to snake my position at work. I work the VIP rooms on weekends and holidays and get paid a pretty penny for it. A lot of girls want the position, but I don't think any of them would actually _kill_ for it. I don't have much of a life outside work."

Felicity felt for her mom. This beautiful sunshine of a woman was a veritable hermit despite her extroverted personality all because her ex-husband made her daughter into a freak show. Not that her mother would ever use those words, but there were many nights full of teenage angst where Felicity had convinced herself she was a freak and her mother would spend all her free time convincing her otherwise. There was a sense of disappointment that even after her father was apprehended, her mother was still bound by the threat of him. Felicity needed to find the one that tried to kill them, almost as much as she needed to find those missing kids. "I'll use an algorithm to estimate height and weight, we'll have to make a guess on gender because the camera quality just sucks."

"Can't you just enhance a still? Ya know, like they do on tv…" Roy asked.

"All I would enhance would be his backside. He cut across the front of the yard through the cacti, so it was out of the driveway coverage..." She clacked away at the keyboard for a few more seconds. "So in reference to all the _known_ measurements our boom-boom maker is Roy." Everyone looked at Roy who paused mid bite, eyes wide with denial and shock. "That is to say he's about 5'10 and between 160-190 lbs, depending on musculature." Felicity finished.

"So a needle in a haystack is what you're saying." Diggle asked, annoyance lacing his voice.

"I will compare the stats against everyone living or staying in that neighborhood and we can narrow it down from there." Felicity was compiling her list of possible suspects when Barry's phone rang, he stepped away to answer it.

"That was Iris. She says Caitlin, Ray, and Cisco are helping comb through the crime scene evidence. They are with the LVPD now. Also, there is no evidence of a Damien Dahrk ever living in the Las Vegas area; but there are plenty of property records pertaining to a Noah Kuttler in all spelling variations. She is emailing a list. According to her source, none of the properties have been sold or foreclosed on, so they might still be in use. This could be what we need to find the bomber." Barry said excitedly.

"Or the missing kids." Felicity whispered.

"Alright, when we get that list in, let's map it out and divvy it up. I want Laurel, Barry, and Roy on one team, it'll be John, Felicity and me on the other. We will split up and start searching these properties. Laurel, you were a lawyer, could you find a friend in the LVPD and let them know what we're going to be doing? I don't want to be disturbed because the neighbors think were breaking in."

"Excuse me." Donna interrupted hesitantly, "Sorry. But that may not be the best idea. I know that Noah… Damien… had plants inside the force. The few times I ever tried to enforce the restraining order my brother fought tooth and nail for me to get; were all thwarted by the police officers. They would just drive by, wave at Noah sitting in his car or standing on the side walk and speed off. Who's to say he may not still have some insiders? That's why the only person in law enforcement I trust is my brother, the FBI agent."

"Good to know Donna, thank you. We're going to change it up then. John and I will take half, Barry and Roy will take the other half. Laurel, you and Felicity stay here with Donna and be ready to help us if we get into trouble."

"I can look for other security cameras in the neighborhood and see if anyone else got a better shot of his face or other identifying marks." Felicity said, feeling more herself with a challenging task in hand.

Oliver laid his hand on Felicity's shoulder and squeezed gently when she rested her cheek on it. "We'll find them. All of them."

Barry and Roy came upon the first property. It was an unassuming little brown house on the northern outskirts of Henderson with the closest neighboring structure, a homestead that was likely abandoned in the late thirties, 2 miles away. Barry ran the property line, a perimeter that enclosed close to 10 acres, to look for any threats or signs of life at all. All he found were the infamous Jumping Chollas, but he managed to escape their attack thanks to his speed.

He then ran a smaller loop, checking the perimeter of the house itself and motioned for Roy to approach. Side-by side they entered the ramshackle, Felicity listening apprehensively on the comms as she skimmed through security camera footage.

"It's empty." Roy said, "Looks like it hasn't been entered in decades. You'd need a shovel to clean out all this dust." He swiped a finger across the window sill. "There's no furniture, no art or pictures on the walls, no curtains… It doesn't look like anyone has ever lived here."

"Let's get a team out there to do a full property search. Let's include some cadaver dogs and ground imaging." Laurel said, casting a sympathetic look at Felicity.

"Um. Not to sound gross or ridiculous; but I'm as good as any cadaver dog. Better even, with the whole being able to talk thing. I can go out there now." Felicity said.

"Honey, do you really want to use your abilities like that?" Donna was getting dangerously close to wringing her hands in knots.

Felicity reached out and held them in her own. "Yes. Because after dozens of cameras and hours of work I wasn't able to pick up our friendly neighborhood bomber. So why not use the other half of my abilities. I might be able to find _something_."

"Wait til I get there." Oliver ordered. "I'll take you."

"No. You search the addresses on your list. I will stay with Roy and Barry. It'll be fine."

Oliver grunted in reluctant agreement and Felicity bid her mom and Laurel farewell, promising to bring back some In-N-Out after her scouting mission.

Night had finally fallen, but that far out in the desert it didn't really matter. It just meant the rattlers and coyotes had gone to bed and the owls were soaring in the night sky looking for kangaroo mice or a stray cat. The almost-full moon might as well have been a spotlight on the desert, everything was visible as if it were dawn. It also reminded Felicity that in a couple days, she would be useless for 24 or so hours. She had to do as much as possible before the full moon.

She pulled up in a black coupe, (which was so _not_ made for the desert dirt roads) climbed out and inhaled deeply. The Santa Ana's were pretty calm for now and the clean, dusty smell of the desert and warmed creosote bushes put her at ease. _Home._

"What's up fellas?" She walked toward the two leaning against their own car. "Where do you think I should start?"

"Inside." Roy suggested. "We couldn't find anything, but you might be able to." He tried to hand her a flashlight.

"I don't need it. I can see just fine. Could you guys stay out here for a bit? I want to make sure I pick up on any and everything, and it's easier without any extra sensory input." She had to focus her senses once again, catalog and ignore the familiar scent of hotel soap cloaking the two ARGUS Agents, the creosote bushes; bypass the chirping crickets and the distant sounds of cars travelling too fast on I-15; see through the dust motes floating in the air and the moths looking for their next meal.

The house smelled empty. She could tell Barry and Roy had spent some time in there; but otherwise it smelled… empty. Not like it wasn't lived in, but unnaturally empty, and it was getting her heartrate ramped up. She looked around the small living room, her once blue eyes reflecting yellow, but she didn't see anything out of place. It wasn't until she wandered into the kitchen that she heard it. An echo of her own footstep.

There was a basement in the Nevada desert, and that was not normal. She studied the room, every nook, cranny and crevice; looking for the entrance to the basement. She found a too-wide grout line on the tiled floor and one slightly discolored tile hidden in the small pantry. She pushed on the tile with her foot and nothing happened. The dust on the floor was thick, thinking that maybe that had caused the discoloration (but why it would only be on this one tile in particular, she had no idea) she knelt down and went to dust it off with her hand when she felt the electric charge emanating from the tile. Curious, she felt the smooth tiles on each side of it, no charge. But hovering her hand above the one, she could feel the electricity. "I think I found something."

"What is it?" Oliver said tensely.

"Not sure. But I think you are going to want to pull Ray and Cisco from the bomb and put them on this. We are going to need their help."


End file.
